Advancement in the fields of information technology (IT) and computer science has made computing and communication devices an integral part of human life. Conventional devices have become more handy and compact and users prefer carrying them at all possible times. Examples of portable computing and communication devices are laptops, palmtops, notebooks, tablet PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smartphones, etc. These devices come in varying sizes and processing power and have an in-built power source, for example, rechargeable batteries. The batteries can be recharged using a power adapter, docking station, etc., from a power supply.
In recent years, the processing capabilities of computing devices have enhanced greatly. Increased processing power means increased energy consumption, which in turn means higher capacity batteries. However, this may increase the weight of the devices, which is not desirable. If existing batteries are continued to be used, they will get discharged quickly owing to the increased processing power of these devices and, therefore, would require frequent charging. Charging is not always possible at all places, especially when a user of such a device is on the move.
Taking into consideration these facts, one can understand the tradeoff between the processing power and the battery life when designing a computing device. However market demands seldom allow such a compromise as there will always be a desire for electronic devices that not only give high processing speed but also last long in terms of battery life.